Shield

Reason: Update life point boosts for adamant/rune spike/berserker shields, and Daemonheim shields. You can help improve this page by editing it.

A shield is a protective item wielded in the off-hand slot. A shield adds substantial bonuses to armour and to life points when wielded, and unlocks the use of some Defenceabilities. Most shields carry a Defence level requirement to wield. Players who wield shields for extra endurance are commonly referred to as tanks.

Contents

History

For most of RuneScape's history, shields had largely been reserved for the melee class. Shields generally gave melee and Ranged defensive bonuses, making them most suitable for melee users, though rangers sometimes used shields with one-handed Ranged weapons. Mages had few options when it came to shield use, as most shields gave substantial penalties to Magic accuracy. Rangers and mages alike tended to wield books in the off-hand, if not wielding a two-handed weapon, for their accuracy and Prayer bonuses. Traditionally, shields were made with the Smithing skill, or received as monster drops.

Many new shields were added to the game with the Evolution of Combat on 20 November2012, particularly low- and mid-level shields for rangers and mages. Additionally, the update made shield usage more attractive by increasing the effectiveness of a shield, as well as adding powerful abilities that require them.

Usage

The use of a shield has a more profound effect on a player's combat ability. Compared to a head-slot item of equal level, a shield adds the same amount of armour and more life points. Shields also allow for the usage of the strongest Defence abilities. Between a shield's extra armour, life point bonuses, and these abilities, players who choose to wield shields are significantly more capable of dealing with enemies' powerful attacks. Shield usage can be very helpful for players who are attempting to battle enemies with a much higher combat level.

Players who wield shields cannot use two-handed or off-hand weapons, both of which carry an extra 50% bonus to damage versus wielding a single one-handed weapon. Additionally, abilities that require a two-handed weapon or off-hand weapon cannot be used. This generally means that players must choose whether to focus on offence with a two-handed weapon or dual-wielded weapons, or focus on defence with a shield. Ideally, players should focus on offence while carrying the shield in their inventory, ready to equip and use when called for.

In a group bossing team, one player may serve as the tank by wielding a shield and using Provoke or activating Incite, which will draw the boss's attention to them. The shield makes it much easier for the tank to survive the boss's focus, and the remaining team members can attack the boss more freely. A similar strategy may be employed in PvP where Provoke decreases the target's damage against other players.

List of notable shields

Melee

Each type of metal in RuneScape, from bronze to dragon, has a square shield and a kiteshield. Square shields give slightly lower armour bonuses than kiteshields, but have the same life point bonuses. Square shields tend to be slightly less expensive than kiteshields. Both square shields and kiteshields, with the exception of the dragon sq shield and dragon kiteshield, can be made through the Smithing skill. In the interest of brevity, only kiteshields are listed below.

+3 prayer bonus. Absorbs 30% of incoming damage in exchange for draining 6% of the original hit in prayer points. Requires completion of Summer's End. This is currently the strongest non-degrading melee shield available.

+3 prayer bonus. Absorbs 30% of incoming damage in exchange for draining 6% of the original hit in prayer points. Requires completion of Summer's End. This is currently the strongest non-degrading Ranged shield available.

+3 prayer bonus. Requires completion of Summer's End. Does not absorb damage unlike other spirit shields, however has a life point bonus instead; this and the arcane spirit shield are currently the strongest non-degrading Magic shields available.

+3 prayer bonus. Absorbs 30% of incoming damage in exchange for draining 6% of the original hit in prayer points. Requires completion of Summer's End. Lacks the life point bonus that the spectral spirit shield has; this and the spectral spirit shield are currently the strongest non-degrading Magic shields available.